Safety and Accidents Involving Aircraft Manufactured from Polymer Composite Materials: A Review

The aviation accident investigation process includes the detailed examination of the aircraft wreckage, as well as the analysis of both primary and secondary elements of the aircraft structure. This requires examination of the wreckage at the accident site, and is followed by additional analysis, often driven by the first results on the field. Therefore, one of the most important tasks of investigators is to determine the sequence of events of the accident. This means that much evidence should be collected to accurately determine the order in which events occurred. With regard to construction materials involved, the interpretation of fracture surfaces can provide very important information. However, metallic and composite structures demonstrate very different behaviors during the operative service, from corrosion and fatigue to fire and combustion resistance. This paper performs a literature review on the identification of failure mode, damage and safety of polymer composite aircraft structures from a point of view that may be useful to aviation safety investigations, with the aim to provide suggestions for future research.